Mom’s come to me with a variety of questions, but if I could get a penny every time I heard this one, I’d be rich:)
“What can I give my child as a healthy snack to go?”
This post is dedicated to all those mom’s out there who have, or will soon, reach out to me for snack solutions. This recipe is nut-free so a safe option in the presence of other kiddies at daycare or school. It’s also VERY low in sugar so don’t expect the same level sweetness you would get in a traditional banana bread.
Nutrient-boost: Pair it with a protein like hemp seed butter (or other nut butter if allergens are not a concern) or hummus, and you’ve got yourself a well rounded snack. A few extra veggies or fruit on the side wouldn’t hurt either.
I made this with spelt flour from Grainstorm but you can easily transform this into a gluten-free recipe with other flours.
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs (or see below for “vegan eggs”)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (or olive oil)
- 3 Tbsp. maple syrup
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- 1 banana
- 1/2 cup mashed blueberries
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups spelt flour (or gluten-free all purpose flour, or brown rice flour)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Vegan Eggs: 2 tbsp ground flax seed + 6 tbsp water (vegan “eggs”). Mix and let sit for 5 minutes before adding to rest of wet ingredients.
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Mix the oil, maple syrup, zucchini, banana and vanilla in a medium bowl. Then stir in the eggs (or ‘vegan eggs’).
- Mix flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt.
- Mix dry and wet ingredients until combined.
- Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake 50-60 minutes or until browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Note: the batter is quite wet with the spelt flour but the end product turned out perfectly moist.